Forbidding Aegis IC Pt 2
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Forbidding Aegis IC Pt 2
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“OK, not the response I was expecting but it makes sense, so Al, Beccie, Zag and Isant? You all coming?”
She messaged Beccie <<Ex-gladus figured out the stone thing it takes us to a Fae realm, coming? I’m going either way >> -
“Fae? They are like, rude faeries or something right? I remember seeing a trid trying to explain, if I got it OK, they are sort of like Tir nobles, but spirits, and make you want to smack the smug out of them even more. That about right?”
“Anyway, I’ll come, I got things to make up. And I can hold my tongue, I’m not JUST dumb muscle, just mostly.“
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Rebbeca texts
>> Let me think about it.As she gradually calms down she pounders her relationship with Silk. She was a good employer, she paid well and on time and did not usually get kidnapped. They were close enough to ask for favors, but not close enough for actual friendship. Rebbeca had few friends, friendship was a liability a thing to use against you you should carefully pick your friends. Going into the Fea realms to save Silk is an act of friendship, altruism is a foreign concept for Rebbeca. She searches her heart to figure out if she should add silk to that very short list of people that she would risk her life for (without a generous credstick).
The woman searches her feelings for over an hour, and as her behavior moves from road rage to acceptance she texts.
>> I’ll do that, just don’t tell anyone that I did.The last thing Rebbeca wants is to lose the reputation of a fair, but ruthless mercenary. She does not want Jhonsons to get the wrong impression that she will do something for free because it is good, or just or because it would make the world a better place. She never does pro-bono work and she keeps her relationships strictly business, except for a few rare occasions.
Spoiler: -
Al took Ulrich’s explanation on board.
He swallowed hard. He guessed he’d always known, known since the Walrus, that it would come down to this. All those other plays, they might have made Her happy, but some things had a higher price, a price way above Her pay grade. .
Eternity was a long time. For him, there was nothing for it. But for these others…
“Well in case y’all din’t read between the lines there, or else supposin’ yer jist all doomed atheists anyhoo, what our Deutschlander kemo sabe is talkin’ about is givin’ yer ever-lovin’ soul up ta Satan. They can tell ya it’s jist a little itty bit all the day long, but yer soul don’t parcel out. Ya take this trip, then you’ll have jist signed yer ferever away ta him-with-the-horns, an’ he won’t give it back easily. Now fer me, well, I already got a strike against me on this front. I leave Silky in that place, my soul’s lost anyhoo. So bein’ damned either way, reckon I’ll go out with a bang, try an’ do some good along the way. But the rest o’ y’all, ya best have yerselves one real long hard think about whether ya want ta spend the rest o’ yer short decades on this mortal plane never ta escape the knowledge that all hope is lost, that ya face an eternity o’ fiery torment.”
He avoided Isaint’s gaze. Of all of them, he had worked hardest to stay true to his faith. Of all of them, he least deserved eternal damnation. Al prayed the ork wouldn’t make this foolish sacrifice, but knew all the while that his hope was likely in vain….
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Isaint shrugged at Al’s look: “Don’t worry old friend. The allmighty does not damn you for doing the right thing. Intention counts too.
Speaking of which: Silk once mentioned too me that she knew the way to Avalon. At the time I thought that was hyperbole. Now I’m not so sure anymore. It might well be, that this fae realm is really the last refuge of the Sleeping King – or a place close to it. In that case, you aren’t giving up your soul to hell, but merely leasing it to Oberon.” -
“likely we all need to do this at the same time” batshit piped up. She was getting impatient, this was exciting and she wanted to know what was on the other side.
“Does anyone need to suit up or borrow gear, if time flows differently the other side we might get split up if we manage to empty our minds at different times, a few seconds here might be hours or days there. Let’s be ready for that.”
She looked at Al. He look troubled she tried a smile, always seems to work. That she was full armoured up and carrying a full sized battle rifle resting on her hip. didn’t occur to her this might lessen the intended effect. This was her element, eagerly waiting to stand between in the way of evil. What was that she had heard on the trid?
“we are gray, we stand between the darkness and the light” -
“Gah, I suppose I need to figure out what to leave behind. Al, I assume you have some way to keep your truck all quiet, is it OK to leave some gear there?“
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“Sure, she locks up. But Spike here’s all the security you’ll need. Anyhoo, sound’s like Ex-G’s stickin’ around. Ex-G, feed the dog. As fer gear, hell, close as I can guess, whatever ya take’s jist gon’ transmogrify ta match the local paradigm anyhoo. Reckon I’m good to go.”
There was no point in being gloomy. That was for pussies. But he wished he could buy into Isaint’s kinder, gentler version of the Almighty. He couldn’t, though. The God of Israel was a wrathful deity, and Al seemed doomed to incur that wrath whichever way he jumped.
“Gimme that thing…”
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Bronwean rolled her eyes at Al, the guys amazing happy go lucky attitude. She hung her head back trying to push down her rising frustration with the delay.
“oh, I have been seriously lied to by my SIM covers” -
Al showed Ex-G where Spike’s food was and gave him the codes for the cars. “Long as ya got the codes, you can call anythin’ ya might need ta know on the windscreen HUD.”
He shrugged on his usual gear – long guns, explosives, tools – they’d probably turn into fairy dust or halberds wherever he was going, but he’d still be glad he had his Boom Bag back on Magical Myster Island. Then he lit a fresh Lucky and picked up the stone disk.
He did the Satan stuff just like Ex-G had told him to.
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Rebbeca returns and participates in the nonsense ritual. Traveling to the metaplanes is not something she expected to be able to do as an Adept, but the world is full of surprises. It would make quite a story, and she expects to learn something new about her magical nature. All in all, when she takes her mind off the fact that she is doing a pro bono gig. It does not feel that bad – how come to some people feel good for doing altruist things is beyond her. She feels like a failure, and it is not like she even needs more money. The Dryad has become quite rich on her own right and her patron is even richer than that.
The thing is, there is no way to truly respect a specialist like her than with a fat credstick. People may speak highly on someone, but a financial commitment shows a willingness to give up something to gain her favor. It guarantees that the work she does is valuable to someone and that they are willing to give up a vacation to the moon, or a new sports car to do something fishy. How can one respect someone that will just do something, because it is “right” or it “feels good”? – all the fixers would be taking out their sad stories and violins if they heard that Rebbeca does these things.
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Zag hesitates for a moment, wondering if he should send a message to someone, letting them know that he is heading to the metaplanes with no guarantee that he’ll make it back. But then he realizes that really, it is just like any other job; there is always that chance that he won’t make it back, and that word of his death may never reach those that he knows.
With a shrug he reaches for the stone and tries to follow the instructions.
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